


A New Thread of Fate

by QuoteMyFoot



Series: Naruto AU Week [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29343576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuoteMyFoot/pseuds/QuoteMyFoot
Summary: In the future, everything went wrong when Naruto couldn't accept the darkness inside him and master the kyuubi, so a desperate plan was concocted by the survivors to send someone back in time and help him overcome his fears. This all made sense... but Choji wasn't sure why they pickedhimfor the mission.Day 3: Time Travel
Relationships: Akimichi Chouji & Uzumaki Naruto
Series: Naruto AU Week [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2151003
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Naruto AU Week 2021





	A New Thread of Fate

A world should end in blood and battle and defiance, not in silence. Their shelter was a shallow cave in the lee of a lonely mountain, but even the echoes there were muted, as though the spirit had been stolen from them, too.

“Is it ready?” Shino asked, startling Choji before he realised Shino wasn’t battle-ready. He was their lookout, but it was approaching the time when even an advance warning would be useless.

Shikamaru sat cross-legged near the cave entrance, his hands making a familiar circle as he surveyed his handiwork – seals painted over every available surface, more than Choji could count. Shika never used to have an expertise in seals, but…

But, well, he was Shika. And if he hadn’t learned quickly, even this slim hope would’ve slipped through their fingers.

“We just need the team to come back,” Shikamaru proclaimed at last.

Choji shuffled his feet awkwardly. He still felt that he should’ve gone to recover the other eye with Ino, who was so important to the plan, but Shikamaru had insisted that Choji stay—that Shika could manage Ino’s role if necessary.

The air was too tense for idle chatter, but it made the silence – the unnatural stillness and deadness of even the plants and insects – all the more oppressive. Choji was relieved when Shino lifted his head.

“They are here,” he said. A pause. “Kakashi and Ino.”

No Kiba. Choji winced. Since losing Akamaru, Kiba had been… reckless. It probably wasn’t a surprise to Shino, but it was still a blow.

Choji put a hand on Shino’s shoulder, not sure what to say. He seemed to sink under the touch, but he didn’t shake Choji off or move away.

Kakashi and Ino appeared in the mouth of the cave in a flash. Ino’s mouth was already open. “Shino, I’m sorry—”

He shook his head. “I know.”

His voice so rarely betrayed emotion; the single tremor on the last word was enough. Ino bit her lip and said nothing.

Shikamaru said nothing. “Now that we’re ready, we have to start before it’s too late.”

He didn’t apologise because Shino wouldn’t expect him to, but Choji noticed the stiffness in his shoulders, a tell-tale sign that Shikamaru was forcing the reserved, relaxed, leader-like persona. He had had to take on so much responsibility as their strategist; Kakashi’s vast knowledge and his particular Sharingan might have given them the idea, but it was Shikamaru who had had to decide how to implement it, who had had to decide who was the most expendable…

And Choji. Choji, despite being useless to him through all of it, was still here. If he couldn’t help his best friend in the most dire straights, how could he possibly…?

“Are you sure?” he blurted.

They all turned to stare at him.

“About the plan,” he added—unnecessarily, because they’d had this discussion before. But he had to say _something_ and he couldn’t quite arrange his words in the right order to express everything he was feeling. “I mean, Shikamaru is the smartest of us—or…”

“The reason Naruto was not able to master the Kyuubi, and why he could not draw on its strengths, was because he could not overcome… the ‘darkness in his heart’, correct?” Shino shook his head. “I would be a poor candidate to help Naruto with this. Why? Because… I have not been able to overcome my own ‘demons’.”

“And if I could’ve helped him,” Kakashi drawled, “we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”

Choji winced. He didn’t know Kakashi-sensei well, but he didn’t need to know him well to understand how much the deaths of his students had weighed on him. “I don’t think you’re being fair to yourself—”

Ino interrupted with a flick of her long hair. “You always think that of other people, Choji. That’s why it has to be you.”

He didn’t understand.

Shikamaru smiled; a rare, genuine smile. “Not only do I know you can do it, Choji, but I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.”

His dry mouth made his tongue feel thick and clumsy. “But I don’t—I still don’t understand what you expect me to _do._ ”

“You don’t have to do anything special,” Shikamaru said. “Just follow your instincts and be yourself.”

Ino nodded, and now she smiled, too. “You’re exactly what he needs, Choji. We believe in you.”

He knew that. He knew they _did,_ but he couldn’t comprehend _why._ Why the calculations in Shikamaru’s head had put Choji’s life so far ahead of everyone else’s. Why their high-risk, one-shot plan of sending a single person back through time, undoing what had been done, should depend on the stupid, big kid who could barely even fight any more.

_I don’t understand._

“Shikamaru-san is right,” Shino said, breaking the awkward silence. Or perhaps the silence was only awkward to Choji, because he continued briskly: “I will guard the entrance to ensure the success of the plan. Good luck, everyone.”

He started out of the cave, but Ino grabbed his sleeve just as he was leaving. “Your team would be proud of you,” she said softly. “Kiba—he was thinking of you.”

Shino bowed his head and did not reply for a long moment. “This is for them, too,” he finally said, before shaking himself free of Ino’s grip and walking outside.

That was the last thing anyone said for several minutes as they busied themselves with preparations for the jutsu. Choji helped Shikamaru check everything for the third time in a row and tried not to look in the direction of Kakashi-sensei, where Ino was replacing his other eye with the new Sharingan one. The chakra usage from both eyes would kill him very quickly, Kakashi-sensei had cheerfully informed them all, so they had to work fast.

Before he knew it, it was time.

Choji gave Shikamaru a pleading look, not even knowing what he wanted to say. Shikamaru squeezed his hand tightly. “No one can make someone believe in themselves like you can, Choji. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. I know you can do the same for Naruto as well. You just have to show the same faith in yourself that you do in others.”

But it was easy to trust Shika—he’d always been smart. Ino, too, was always so passionate and decisive. They were the drivers of their team. All Choji had to do was support them.

Shika patted him on the back, and Choji’s heart sank as he took his place. Kakashi-sensei revealed two spinning red eyes and the seals lit up, blinding, as Ino started the hand signs for one of her advanced family jutsu and Shikamaru caught Choji’s eyes one last time and nodded.

Choji closed his eyes—

*

Choji woke up in a shallow, empty cave, somewhere within the old borders of Fire Country—no, not the old borders, the borders would still be there now, wouldn’t they? It was strange to blink and see nearly the same setting, but without his friends and the seals Shikamaru had so painstakingly marked out

His friends, who didn’t exist any more. Who would never exist in that way again—older and sad and lonely and worn down.

That was what they wanted, was the _point,_ but Choji still felt he was in a strange kind of mourning. He hadn’t known Shino well before—before everything happened. The only Shino he had known would never be his friend again. Ino would never have to be so tired and so brave. Shikamaru would never have to stand so straight under so much pressure. Kiba, Choji fervently hoped, would never be only one half of a pair.

But even if those friends were gone, the least he could do was to try his best to fulfil the task they sent him to do. Choji might be nearly useless in a fight now, but he was still a ninja of Konoha. He couldn’t let his teammates and his people down.

So he picked himself up off the floor of the cave and began the long trek home.

*

Choji rehearsed his background one more time as he approached Konoha’s main gate. He’d been on duty here as a chunin himself, so he knew the right things to say, but still—the scars on his face were obviously from a shinobi battle, and might attract more attention than he needed.

Kakashi-sensei had suggested he pretend to be from a village on Fire Country’s western coast, attacked during the Kiri Civil War. It wasn’t uncommon for raiding parties of either side to venture farther away from home territory for supplies, and the situation had often been so chaotic that no one would be able to contradict his story—but it would also neatly explain his Fire accent and familiarity with Konoha ninja.

Choji’s heart sank. _I know it would’ve been hard for Kakashi’sensei to come and not be recognised, but…_

“Name?” the guard said at the gate. “And state your business.”

“Yamato Jichu,” Choji replied. They decided on a name close to his original one so he had plausible deniability if he responded to the wrong name. The ‘Yama’ was for Ino, and his own idea. “I’m looking for work and somewhere to stay. Sorry, but I don’t have papers.”

The chunin scowled, but Choji knew it was because of the extra paperwork. In peacetime, Konoha was not very suspicious of people with civilian-level chakra—and he had gotten _very_ good at dampening his chakra whilst on the run, even when he was asleep.

He was handed off to an older genin to process the paperwork and within twenty minutes, he had a passport in his jacket pocket, and he found himself staring at the visages of the Hokage on the mountain. He was home, but…

_Tsunade-sama isn’t there._

Of course she was missing. It wasn’t her time yet. But to see her absent from being honoured on the Hokage Mountain after Choji had seen her die for Konoha—no, for all the ninja—was…

“Impressive sight, huh?” an old man said, not unkindly. Choji realised he’d stopped in the middle of the street to stare. “You must be new to our village! Welcome, son.”

“Th-thank you. Yes, I am new,” Choji said.

The words tasted like ashes on his tongue for how truthful they were.

He couldn’t help but think of how far he had to go, and how much he could still mess up.

_I hope you were right, Shika. I really hope… I don’t let you down._

*

It took Choji a few days to get settled in with the necessities. He got a part-time job at two different restaurants, ones he remembered as being busy and popular from his time as a genin, but which were now just starting to become noticed—hence their desperation for new hires. Choji had seen his great-uncle in one of them whilst he was talking to the owner. He hadn’t recognised Choji at all, which was good, and at least he knew his memory wasn’t faulty and he could be sure of a steady job. The ‘seal of approval’ from the Akimichi was entirely unofficial, but people _noticed_ when one of his clan kept going back to a food place and reacted accordingly.

His old clan.

With work, Choji had been able to find a place to rent—just a tiny, single room but better than the streets—as well as fill out the paperwork to become a permanent resident (a lot more than he remembered. With new clothes that would make him look like a respectable but ordinary citizen, he was ready to start the mission.

He took a deep breath and ducked his head into the Ichiraku ramen stall.

“Welcome!” Ichiraku said. “A new face is always a pleasant sight here. What’ll it be, sir?”

“Oh, oh, get the pork ramen!” said a bright, high-pitched voice. “It’s my favourite!”

Choji blinked. He expected to have to come to Ichiraku’s a few times before he met Naruto. He looked very small to Choji’s eyes, but still probably old enough to be in the Academy. Surely he wasn’t here all the time? No, it must just be a luck coincidence.

“Naruto is my favourite customer,” Ichiraku said, a little louder than necessary. He was looking rather hard at Choji. “You’d do well to take his advice.”

Choji blinked. “Oh… okay. A large pork ramen then, please.”

Ichiraku nodded and Naruto beamed. “You’re going to love it, mister! I come for ramen all the time! Sometimes the old man buys it for me and then I get to have seconds! What’s your name?”

This sounded like the Naruto that Choji remembered: loud and insistent. “My name is Jichu,” he said. “Naruto-kun, wasn’t it? You really like ramen, Naruto-kun?”

“YES!” he replied. “Ichiraku’s ramen is the best food in the _whole entire world_.”

Choji gave an exaggerated gasp which made Naruto grin. “Well, with that kind of recommendation…”

He seemed to take Choji’s friendliness as a cue to chat, because soon Choji was inundated with a whole bunch of facts about Naruto’s life, with very little input required on his part aside from the occasional, “Uh huh”, “Is that so?”, and “Yes, orange is a great colour”.

Choji was a bit startled when Naruto mentioned his younger self in his class, but Choji managed not to show anything. _Better get used to it; it’s only going to get worse from here._

“And Iruka-sensei yelled at me for making Choji, Shikamaru, and Kiba play noisy games, but I didn’t _make_ them, isn’t he so mean? One day I’ll show him because I’ll be Hokage and then everybody will be allowed to be as noisy as they want!”

How did he talk so fast and so much all in one breath? And he thought Naruto liked Iruka-sensei? Luckily, Choji had a minute to process as Naruto stopped talking to slurp up some more noodles.

“Well, maybe you can play a quieter game tomorrow,” Choji reasoned, feeling it was a safe reply. “Then, Iruka-sensei won’t have a reason to make you guys stop playing.”

Naruto brightened. “Wow! That’s such a good idea, mister! Thanks.”

“Shouldn’t you be back at the Academy by now, Naruto?” Ichiraku said suddenly.

“Oops.” He didn’t seem that bothered, though, savouring the ramen soup as he drained his bowl. That was much more like how Choji remembered—Naruto had normally been late even on the days he did attend class. “Ichiraku’s ramen really is the best! See you tomorrow!”

Naruto hopped off his stool, and waved goodbye to Choji as well. “What was your name again?”

“Jichu.”

“Okay, Jichu. You’re pretty cool! I’ll see you tomorrow as well! Bye!”

He zoomed off before Choji could say anything. Ichiraku laughed at his blank stare. “I guess I’m coming back tomorrow?” he mumbled.

Somehow, he thought it would be harder to get Naruto to trust him.

“You can have the bowl tomorrow for half off,” Ichiraku said. “That’s the deal I’d make you now anyway if you stayed for another. Don’t listen to what they say about Naruto, he’s a sweet kid.”

“Are there rumours about him? Sorry, I only just moved here from the coast.”

“You’re new? That explains it…” Ichiraku tailed off and shook his head. Choji knew he was thinking of the kyuubi, but of course he couldn’t mention it. “Well, don’t pay attention to such things. You know how rumours can get out of hand, I’m sure.”

Of course Choji knew that, but it was nice to see that at least some of Konoha already knew it too, even without knowing what Naruto would become.

He saw Naruto again at the ramen stand the next day, where Naruto again shared stories of his time at the Academy—seriously, since when was Iruka-sensei so mean? Choji didn’t recall any of this—and remembered to ask Choji a bit about himself this time.

“You’re from outside of Konoha!” Naruto said, practically shouting. “That’s so cool! I’d love to visit places outside of the village.”

His shoulders slumped. Choji wondered if Naruto had ever thought about running away from Konoha, going somewhere where nobody knew him, before he latched onto the idea of becoming Hokage. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get to do all that stuff when you’re a ninja, right?” Choji replied. “You just need to work hard at school first.”

“I guess,” Naruto said. He was obviously unenthused by school, pouting in a comical way. Her perked up suddenly. “Hey, I made Iruka-sensei laugh with a joke I made today! It was only for a second, but I saw him! Do you think he will like me now?”

“It’s a good start, at least.”

Choji was so confused. Was Iruka-sensei really like this back then? His memories from that time were apparently even fuzzier than he thought. A part of him wanted to talk to Iruka-sensei about it, but it would be weird for a stranger to approach him about a boy he only just met, and Shikamaru said it would be too risky to try to change too many things.

He supposed, for now, it just meant Naruto needed more support. “You seem like a nice person to me. I’m sure your teacher will come round.”

Naruto grinned. “Yeah! You’re so right, Jichu! I’ll make sure Iruka-sensei acknowledges me, and then the whole village!”

“Always good to have a plan,” Choji said. “You already have me and Ichiraku-san, so I’m sure you can do it.”

He bent his head to take a bite of his delicious noodles, so it took him a moment to realise Naruto had fallen utterly silent. _Oh no, I didn’t say something wrong, did I?_

But Choji found Naruto just staring at him, his lower lip trembling. “You… you can old man Ichiraku?”

“That’s right! I don’t expect to lose my favourite customer when you become Hokage.” Ichiraku said. He tapped Naruto’s hand playfully with a roll of paper. “But don’t call me an old man!”

Naruto rubbed at his eyes fiercely and sniffed. Choji’s heart sank. _Does it really mean so much? Just to hear a stranger say he believes in you? Naruto…_

“I-I’ll always come back to Ichiraku’s,” Naruto mumbled. His voice only sounded a little wobbly. “I promise.”

He seemed subdued for the rest of his meal, and when he made to go back to the Academy, he turned to Choji first and promised he was going to do his best for the rest of the day. When Choji said, “Good job!”, Naruto’s smile lit up his whole face like the sun.

He ran towards the Academy and Choji finished his ramen. He’d had no idea Naruto had been so lonely as a child, but it made sense now that it was something he hadn’t been able to completely shake off. Choji was just uncertain he could make enough of a difference to save everyone.

Choji handed his empty bowl back to Ichiraku absent-mindedly, and was about to get up to leave when another steaming bowl of ramen was set in front of him. _Uh-oh… eating out twice was bad enough._ There was no way he could afford seconds on his current meagre salary. Biting his lip, Choji delicately said, “Excuse me, I think there was a misunderstanding. I didn’t order a second bowl.”

Ichiraku just laughed. “It’s on the house.”

He opened his mouth to protest.

“No, I won’t hear it!” The old man even covered his ears for affect until Choji closed his mouth again. “That little boy needs more good influences in his life. Consider it a thanks from me, and don’t offend me by refusing.”

His stomach grumbled at the smell of the ramen, which settled the argument. “Thank you, then.”

Ichiraku nodded, satisfied. “Besides, I’ve been seeing how you pace yourself with the single bowl. You’re normally a big eater like the kid, aren’t you?”

It hadn’t escaped Choji’s noticed that Naruto was already on his second bowl by the time he got there. “ _Well...”_

Ichiraku winked. “Just remember to mention us to all the new friends you make, eh?”

Choji had never been very good at making friends, but he could tell his coworkers, at least. “Sure.”

In all the excitement, he’d forgotten to let Naruto know he wouldn’t be back at Ichiraku’s for a while—mainly for money reasons (living on your own was surprisingly expensive). As one week went by, and then another when Choji had to cover all the lunch shifts at work, he began to worry that Naruto would be angry with him, or worse, _upset,_ thinking he’d been abandoned.

But when Choji ducked into Ichiraku’s again, Naruto just smiled and let out the most delighted, “Jichu! I missed you.”

He was on the pork ramen again today. _I have got to get Naruto eating more vegetables,_ Choji thought, cautiously patting his small head. “Missed you too, Naruto-kun. How was school?”

As Naruto started chattering away happily, telling him how Iruka-sensei was being nicer now and had even started asking Naruto stay after school so he could explain the work better when he got stuck—well, Naruto thought this was a bad thing, but Choji saw the concern for what it really was—Choji began to relax.

He still wasn’t sure that he’d been the right person to pick, but Shikamaru was right. Naruto didn’t need his whole life upended—all these experiences were part of what made Naruto who he was, and he already had the potential to be a great person. He just needed more people to believe in him.

*

“Hey, hey, old man Ichiraku!” Naruto skidded to a halt in front of the ramen stand, panting.

“I told you not to call me an old man!” the old man replied, shaking his fist. Ayane hid a smile behind his shoulder, and Naruto gave her a quick wave. Ichiraku blinked at him. “Wait, what’s the hurry?”

“I… I’m leaving on a long mission today,” Naruto said. “A _really_ long one! So I have to say goodbye to Jichu, but I can’t find him anywhere!”

“And what about me and Ayane?!” Ichiraku demanded.

He frowned at him. “But I always know where you guys are!”

Ayane let out a snort.

The old man sighed. “Oh… nevermind, Naruto. Anyway, he said he was going to try that barbecue place today.”

“Okay, bye!” Naruto took off at a run again before quickly darting back. “I mean, not _bye_ bye, I’ll be by later to say bye for real bye, just for now… bye!”

“Naruto, what are you talking about?”

But he didn’t have much time before the pervy sage wanted them to leave so he started running again. He could explain to old man Ichiraku later. He was probably just starting to lose his hearing.

He found the barbecue place in record time just as Jichu was arriving. He blinked as Naruto mistimed his stop and skidded past him a few feet. “Uh… you okay there, Naruto-kun?”

“Yeah!” Naruto jumped upright and subtly dusted his sleeves off a bit. “Totally cool, I meant to do that!”

“Oh. Well then, do you want to come in for some barbecue?”

“Um, actually, I kinda have something important to tell you…”

Jichu smiled. “How about we talk over food then? I always find food helps.”

That was one of the things Naruto really liked about Jichu. He appreciated the good things in life. Like ramen! And barbecue was pretty good too, he supposed. “I can’t stay for long, but sure!”

He let Jichu order, because apart from that one time when they first met, any time Naruto tried to suggest what food to eat, Jichu would glower at him and start talking about food groups and balanced diets. Which Naruto thought was stupid, because he never saw _Jichu_ eating vegetables, but he would never say so. Jichu met Kakashi-sensei _once_ and asked him about his Vitamin D intake—hilarious, but also, if you heard Naruto talk about the bell test and fighting Zabuza in Wave and the first thing you said to Kakashi-sensei was _still_ ‘are you taking supplements?’, you were a scary person.

They sat in a private booth and waited for the food to arrive. Naruto fidgeted. He’d run all this way to tell Jichu, but now he didn’t know how to say it.

“What’s up?” Jichu asked.

Suddenly, it didn’t seem so hard at all. “Hey, you know the pervy sage guy I was talking about? Well… I’m going on a really long mission with him soon and I wanted to say goodbye. But, it’s going to be _really_ long. I’ll be gone for three whole years.”

Jichu never seemed to be surprised by anything except the interesting moulds in Naruto’s fridge, and he wasn’t surprised by this either, but his shoulders did slump. “I see… but that’s good for you, though. Isn’t he a really strong ninja?”

“Hehe, yeah.” _But I can still beat him… Sexy Jutsu strikes again!_ “So when I come back, I’ll be really strong! It’s going to suck not having any Ichiraku ramen for years.”

“I’ll make sure to invent some new recipes for you to try when you get home.”

Naruto nodded, biting his lip. Three years was a long time. What if… “You’re not going to forget about me, are you?”

“Forget about you?” Jichu smiled. “Don’t be ridiculous, that’s impossible!”

Naruto smiled back, a warm feeling spreading through his chest. When Jichu said it like that, it just sounded so… true. “Yeah, you’re right. Hey, maybe you could team up with old man Ichiraku and come up with some new ramen recipes? You can even put vegetables in them if you want.”

“I wasn’t going to wait for your permission…”

The food arrived, and Naruto shoved a piece of meat in his mouth just as he saw the clock. He chewed as fast as he could, flapping his hands to try to cool down his mouth whilst trying to gesture at the time

Jichu frowned at him for a moment, and then his expression cleared. “Oh, is it time for you to go?”

Naruto nodded frantically.

“You better go then. I’ll see you when you get back.”

It was a simply goodbye, but nothing more needed to be said. Naruto knew he was right: all his friends would be waiting for him when he got home.

**Author's Note:**

> I realised there was so much cool stuff you could do with this concept that I didn't have time to explore, so you just kind of have this as a premise. AGH. I hope you still like it, but just imagine... Choji being like 'oh hell no' when he sees traumatised smol Sasuke left alone. The possibilities!! Seriously if someone wants to take this idea and run with it please do. 
> 
> All kinds of comments loved and appreciated; concrit, I didn't like x, this reminded me of y, z was very cool--any thoughts are welcome and valuable.


End file.
